Windows 10: FAQs Click on a topic below e.g. File Management to find answers to common questions about Windows 10. Alternatively, you can search this document by pressing CTRL + F and typing a keyword. If you don t find the answer to your question here, please contact the IT service desk servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk. The Start Menu File Management Cortana Edge Task View and Virtual Desktops The Start Menu Question 1. The Start Menu layout has changed. What s new? Answer The Windows 10 Start Menu has a list of applications (apps) on the left and a selection of tiles on the right. You can choose which tiles you want (if any) and arrange them to suit your own preferences (see below). 2. How do I shut down or restart my computer? Click the Start button then click the Power button. Options to Shut down, restart or Sleep appear in a pop-up menu. Click the one you require. 3. How do I lock my PC? Press [Windows key] +L or click the Start button then click your user icon (at the left of the Start menu). Click Lock. 4. How do I log off (sign out) from my computer? There are several ways to do this: Click the Start button then click your user icon (at the left of the Start menu). Click Sign out. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del and select the Sign out option from there. Right-click the Start button and hover the mouse pointer over Shut down or sign out. Click Sign out from the pop-up menu. You will also see options to Sleep, Shut down or Restart your PC by right-clicking the Start button and hovering over Shut down or sign out. University of Aberdeen :: IT Services Reviewed: 08/08/2017 The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683
5. I share a PC with other people. How do I switch between users when logging in? If the PC is showing the Windows 10 lock screen, press Ctrl+ Alt + Delete then click the Other user icon at the bottom left of the screen. If another user is already logged in, press Ctrl+ Alt + Delete and choose Switch user. You will return to the lock screen where you can follow the step above to log in. 6. Can I change the size of the Start Menu? Yes, by clicking the Start button then hovering the mouse over the top edge or the right edge of the menu. When the mouse pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, click and drag the mouse to increase/decrease the size of the menu. 7. How do I find the applications on my PC? You can find applications by looking in the All Apps list in the Start menu, or by clicking the Search box on the task bar and typing the name of the application you are looking for. 8. The All Apps list is very long. Is there a quick way to jump to a particular area? Yes. All apps is grouped alphabetically, with your most-used apps listed at the top. Click on an individual letter heading e.g. A, or the Most used heading to display a grid of all letters. Click the starting letter of the app you want in order to jump to it in the list. 9. How do I add an app to the Start menu so I can find it quickly and easily? Find the app you need, then right-click its icon. Click Pin to Start to add a tile to the right-hand side of the Start menu. 10. How do I remove a tile from the Start menu? Right-click the tile you want to remove and click Unpin from Start. 11. I ve added lots of tiles to my Start menu. How do I arrange them into groups? Drag a tile to an empty area of the Start menu. Once in place, hover the mouse in the area just above the tile the words Name group appear. Click Name group and type a new name then press Enter. You can also drag and drop tiles between groups. 12. I d prefer to pin an application to the Task Bar instead. How do I do that? Use the Search box to find the application, then right-click its icon. Click Pin to Taskbar from the shortcut menu. 2
File Management 1. I used to click Computer in the Windows 7 Start menu to view my files and network drives. Where has that gone? It s now called File Explorer. To access it, either click the File Explorer icon on the Task Bar or click the Start button and click the File Explorer icon at the left-hand side. 2. Where are the menu options in File Explorer? All menu options now appear on the Ribbon at the top of the screen (as they do in Microsoft Office applications). 3. How do I search for files on my computer? Type the name of the file (or part of the name) in the Search Box on the Taskbar. If you can t find what you re looking for, click the File Explorer icon on the task bar and use the Search Tools. 4. Where do I find the Search Tools in File Explorer? Click into the Search box at the top right of the File Explorer window and type the name of the item you are looking for. The Search Tools tab will appear on the Ribbon, offering more detailed search options. 5. How do I map a network drive in Windows 10? In File Explorer, click This PC in the list of items at the left then click Computer at the top of the window to display the Ribbon. The Map Network Drive button appears in the Network section. 6. When I open File Explorer, the main window contains a list of Frequent folders and Recent files instead of my Home drive and shared network drives. Why is this? 7. I want to choose the default view for File Explorer when it opens. How do I do that? This happens when File Explorer is set to default to the Quick Access area when opening (Quick Access is like the Favorites area in Windows 7 where you can pin your frequently-used folders so you can find them quickly and easily). You will find your Home drive and any shared network drives listed under This PC further down the list of items at the left-hand side. In File Explorer, click the View menu, then click Options. Click Change folder and search options and click the drop-down list beside Open File Explorer to:. Choose Quick Access or This PC then click OK. 8. How do I pin folders to my Quick Access area? Right-click the folder you want to pin. Click Pin to Quick access from the shortcut menu. You can also pin folders to your Start menu via the right-click shortcut menu, but choose Pin to Start instead. 3
Cortana 1. What is Cortana? Cortana is the Windows 10 virtual assistant, which can help you with various tasks such as internet searches, setting reminders and showing your upcoming calendar appointments. Cortana can even tell jokes! Type the question or task you want Cortana to action and she will provide an answer or carry out your request, e.g. set a reminder or search for an application on your PC. If you have a headset or microphone, you can talk to Cortana instead of typing. Edge 1. What is Edge? Edge is the new default browser for Windows 10. Occasionally you may visit a website which is not compatible with Edge, so Internet Explorer is still available and you can use it as you did with Windows 7. 2. I can t find the Favorites menu in Microsoft Edge. Where has it gone? Favorites are now part of the Hub in Edge. You can access the Hub by clicking the Hub icon (three lines) at the top right of the Edge window. As well as Favorites, the Hub is also where you ll find your browsing history, a list of the items you have downloaded, and your reading list. Click the Star icon at the top right of the window to add a website to your Favorites. 3. What is the Reading List in Edge? It s a place to store articles you want to keep to read later, similar to your Favorites area in Internet Explorer. 4. What is the book icon in the address bar for? It activates Reading View for a web page, where available. This view focuses on the text of a web page, removing other distractions on the page. 5. Where is my browsing history? It s now in the Hub. Click the Hub icon to open the Hub pane, then click the History icon (the third of the buttons at the top of the pane). 4
6. Where is the Internet Options setting? This is now known as Settings. Access it by clicking the ellipsis (three lines) icon at the top right of the Edge window. 7. How do I clear the browser cache? Click the ellipsis (three dots) at the top right and choose Settings. Scroll down until you see Clear browsing data and click Choose what to clear. Tick the items you want to clear and click the Clear button. 8. I need to turn off/on the pop-up blocker. How can I do that? Click the ellipsis (three lines) at the top right of the window, and choose Settings. Scroll down to the Advanced settings area and click View advanced settings. Click On/Off as appropriate under Block pop-ups. 9. When I search in Edge, the default search engine is Bing, but I d prefer to use Google (or another search provider). How can I change it? Navigate to the web page of the search engine you want to use as the default. Click the ellipsis (three dots) and choose Settings. Scroll down to the Advanced settings area and click View advanced settings. Scroll down to the Privacy and services section. Click Change search engine. Click the search provider from the list and click Set as default. 10. Can I pin websites I use regularly to the Start menu? Yes. Navigate to the page then click the ellipsis (three lines) at the top right of the window. Click Pin this page to Start to create a tile. To rearrange the tiles, see above. 11. Are there any other handy new features in Edge? Yes. Edge includes a set of annotation tools to help you mark up a web page with highlights or notes. There is also a tool that allows you to select and copy information from a webpage so you can paste it into a document as a web clip. To access these tools, click the Pencil icon at the top right of the Edge window. You can then save the annotated page to your Reading List so you can refer to it later. 5
Task View and Virtual Desktops What does this icon on the Taskbar do? How do I close the Task View? Can I still use [Alt] + [Tab] to switch between applications? It is the Task View icon. Clicking it opens the Task view screen and shows you thumbnail pictures of the applications that are currently running on your PC. You can also activate Task View by pressing the [Windows key] + [Tab]. Click a thumbnail to switch to that application. Click on the Task View icon, or on the desktop, to return to normal view. Yes. When you press and hold the [Alt] key and tap the [Tab] key you will see the thumbnails for the open applications. Tab to the one you want and release the [Alt] key to switch. When I m using Task View there is a button in the bottom right corner called New Desktop. What does that do? It lets you set up a new version of your desktop called a Virtual Desktop. This can be useful if you regularly have lots of applications switched on at the same time, as you can open them on separate desktops and switch between them easily by clicking the Task view icon or pressing [Windows key] + [Tab]. Virtual desktops will appear as thumbnails at the bottom of the Task View screen - click on a thumbnail to switch between desktops. Can I move an application from one virtual desktop to another? Yes. Click the Task View icon then right-click the application thumbnail you want to move. When the shortcut menu pops up, hover over Move to and click the name of the desktop you want to move it to. Can I change the name of my virtual desktops? No, you can t. Virtual desktops will be named as Desktop 1, Desktop 2, etc. 6